


Wet

by HiddenViolet



Series: 2020 - 12 Days of Writing [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt Edward Nygma, Hypothermia, M/M, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Damian Wayne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:13:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28138236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenViolet/pseuds/HiddenViolet
Summary: Ed falls into the bay and Bruce has to rescue him.
Relationships: Edward Nygma & Batfamily, Edward Nygma & Damian Wayne, Edward Nygma/Bruce Wayne
Series: 2020 - 12 Days of Writing [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2054838
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	Wet

**Author's Note:**

> The last of these was so well-liked that I had to write another. Loosely set in the same universe as Malfunction.

“Let me out of the water before you start lecturing me.”

Bruce gave him an unimpressed look. He figured that the mask was only going to make it more apparent, not less. He reached into the murky water of Gotham Bay and hauled Ed out via his collar.

“Alfred, I’ve got Ed; we’re coming home right now. Please prep the hypothermia supplies. Someone managed to end up in the water.”

Ed flinched a little and looked down. Bruce sighed lightly and pulled him into a firm hug. “I’m not angry, darling. I just get so worried when you do this sort of thing. You aren’t 20 anymore. You really need to act your own age.”

Bruce could hear Alfred’s muffled snort through the comm, and ignored him. Ed looked up at him through his lashes and tried to look cute. Bruce would’ve liked to say that it didn’t work, but that would’ve been lying.

“I’m serious. I worry so desperately for you, Ed. I am terrified that one day someone will do something really horrible to you, and I won’t be able to save you in time. You mean so much to me; I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

Ed pressed close, clinging to the warmth. Bruce began to maneuver them to the Batmobile, allowing Ed to act like an octopus on the way there. Inside the vehicle, he turned the heat on and up. Ed shivered lightly but began to look a little less blue in the lips.

“Just tell me what was so important that you got yourself tossed in the bay. It had better be something really good, Ed, or I swear I am handing you over to Damian for the weekend. You can spend the entire time dealing with him and babysitting him.”

Ed pouted at him. “I like babysitting Damian. He’s lovely company.”

Bruce and Alfred managed to snort in unison. “Darling, he’s only lovely with you because it makes you happy. You are his favorite person in the world. Otherwise, he would never even give you the time of day. He’s a rude, arrogant little snot.”

“He gets it from his father, I would imagine.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like his _mummy_ is any better. Especially since he does things like get himself tossed in the bay. Perhaps I should add that the babysitting will be happening solely from the Manor, where you will be spending the next week. You and he are both grounded. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you avoided the question. You don’t really have a good reason, and you aren’t willing to fess up. You can just spend your time doing chores for Alfred and assisting with Damian’s homework.”

Ed’s face screwed up. “I am not his _mummy_. I’m not anyone’s _mummy_.”

Bruce snorted. “You snuggle him on the couch. Not even I can snuggle him on the couch. His birth mother wouldn’t have been able to snuggle on the couch. You are the only person in the world he ever wants to spend any time with. You dote on him; you take care of him, and you are most definitely his mummy.”

Ed gave a half-hearted glare and sighed lightly. He settled back into his seat and watched the world go past. “I just wanted it to feel like old times, that’s all. I misjudged the distance from the yacht I was jumping off of and fell in. I wasn’t even in any real danger. I just didn’t want to get caught, and that meant jumping. I missed the dock by a few inches, and then I was in the water. It isn’t anything more complicated than that.”

Bruce sighed and focused on his driving as much as possible. “Ed, you aren’t a young villain anymore. You are a middle-aged, morally gray thief/private investigator. You aren’t able to do the things that you used to. We all slow down as we get older, even me.”

Ed’s voice became distressed. “You are just as bad for it as I am. You are out all night doing your Batman stuff, and then you spend all day in those meetings for the corporation. You get hardly any sleep at all. If anyone needs to talk about slowing down, it’s you. Not to mention that you have multiple incredibly talented protégés who can carry on your work. They are just as good, possibly even better than you are at this.”

Bruce gave a deep sigh and knew that this conversation really only had one logical ending. “If I promise to start cutting back on the Batman stuff, will you cut down on your thieving and stick to your PI stuff?”

Ed looked at him, surprised. “I must’ve hit my head when I fell in. It sounded like you were willing to consider a partial retirement. Something you told me when we first started going out that you would never do.”

Bruce sighed and glanced at him. “Yes, I will start moving towards retirement. This lifestyle is really beginning to take its toll, and I would love to spend more time with my boyfriend. As it is now between the vigilantism and the legitimate work, I never have any time to spend with him. So, it’s possible that he is acting up to try and get more attention. He feels like I’ve been neglecting him and is trying to get my attention the only way he really knows how.”

Ed chewed on his lip and shrugged lightly. “Maybe. It’s tough to tell with him. He loves spending time with his boyfriend, but he gets really shy if they spend too much time together. It makes him feel more and more like he’s going to mess up and then lose someone he really cares about.”

“Oh, Ed,” Bruce said softly. “Sweetheart, that’s never going to happen. You are never going to do so much that you will drive me away. The only possibility would be if you hurt one of the kids, which I know you would never ever do. It’s just not even in the realm of possibility.”

“You don’t know that I’m not going to do something really, really horrible, and then you won’t be able to stomach even being near me.”

“Honey, please don’t take this the wrong way. You are one of the most ineffective villains I have ever met in my entire life. You are way too gentle and sweet to ever be that sort of person. That’s part of the reason that we’re together. The other day you had a breakdown and had to be comforted by Dick and your hostages. You’re a true sweetheart.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Of course, I do. Here, we are. Ah, there is Alfred. Let’s get you warmed up, and then we can discuss our partial retirement a little more.”

Alfred was standing up on the platform, looking disapproving as the Batmobile entered the cave. Bruce parked it and helped Ed out. Alfred appeared and took his other arm firmly. Ed got the feeling that it was less of a support measure and more that he didn’t want him to get away.

Ed was led out of the Batcave and up into the Manor. It seemed that the kids had already managed to finish their rounds and make it back. There were several nosy sets of eyes that followed them. However, Damian was apparently not satisfied with just watching.

“What have you done to Edward?”

Bruce nearly strained his eye muscles with how hard he was rolling them.

“I haven’t done anything to Ed. He was pretending he is still a villain and fell into the bay. He just needs to get warmed back up, and he’ll be fine. However, he and you, by the way, are grounded. You will be spending all week inside the Manor. Are we clear?”

Damian narrowed his eyes and took an irritated breath. “Yes, Father. Edward and I shall remain here as you order. I shall make sure that I am caring for him in his reduced state. Although I still disagree with your punishment. I was able to accomplish my task despite the risk that I took. It was an acceptable course of action.”

“No, it wasn’t, and you aren’t arguing with me over this. When you are in the field, you do as I say or one of your brothers, and you don’t defy orders.”

“Come with me, Edward, we’re going where the people have sensible things to say.”

“Oh no, you don’t. You don’t get to steal him away and then complain to him about how unfair things are here. How I always do things different from your mother and grandfather. If you want to gossip and complain like an old lady to Ed, you can do it in the living room next to the fire. That way, he can get properly warmed up.”

Damian stiffened in offense. “I would never be remiss in my care of Edward! I would assure that he was of the best health.”

Bruce took a deep breath in and sighed it out. “I didn’t mean it that way, Damian. I know that you would take excellent care of Ed. I just meant to say that he would likely recover the fastest if he was near the warmest point in the house. Currently, that is the fireplace in the sitting room.”

Damian squinted his eyes and considered this for a moment. He apparently couldn’t find a fault in that logic as he tugged on Ed’s wrist and led him to their sitting room.

Alfred had known precisely what to do, and there was already a roaring fire going. Although, most nights that were this cold, there was usually a roaring fire going. Between the cold and the likelihood that they would get wet or thrown into a snowbank, a fire was typically needed to help offset the common issues that came with patrols in winter.

Ed sighed as soon as he entered the room, and Damian and Bruce helped set him on a cushion on the floor. He gave a deep sigh and relaxed against the couch. Alfred soon appeared carrying a tray.

“Here you are, Edward. Drink this; it should hopefully warm you back up from the inside. I’ve brought the rest of you some tea to help you sleep. I don’t want any arguments; it’s too late in the day for coffee. Besides, it isn’t fair to have some when Edward isn’t allowed. Now drink up, and let’s get the lot of you off to bed.”

Bruce sighed lightly as the tea warmed him and watched as the hot chocolate did the same for Ed. More color appeared in his cheeks, and his shivers finally subsided. Perhaps, it was time to consider pulling back. Between Dick and Jason, they had the younger boys well in hand. Not that they needed much beyond making sure that they weren’t biting off more than they could chew.

They were pushing to have more responsibility and take more of the family business over. Perhaps, Bruce would be better suited to staying in and running support the way that Alfred did. That would have the added benefit of allowing Alfred a chance to have a break once in a while.

Bruce’s eyes inevitably found their way to Ed. They always seemed to. The most significant advantage was that it would allow him to spend more time with Ed and lavish the attention he so desperately needed. Between the boys, Bruce and Alfred, he was pretty much set for his needs. However, it was made clear by the day’s events that he needed more from Bruce himself. Looking into a partial retirement would allow him to do that.

However, he wasn’t going to make that decision tonight. It would likely take months and months of planning to get more responsibility transferred over to Dick. Then they would need to slowly reduce the amount of time he was spending in the field while increasing the number of nights Dick was in charge.

It would be a lot of work, but he genuinely thought it would be worth it once he got to the end. Besides, beyond Ed’s needs, Bruce really missed spending time with him. There was a lot for them, and Bruce wanted them to have all of it. Even if it meant reducing his hours.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment and kudos if you liked it.


End file.
